Over many years there have been stories and tales of folklore referring to humans who either exhibited strange powers or were reincarnations of the Devil. It is of course easy to equate the actions of some individuals as being straight out of Hell. Jack the Ripper is one of those who come to mind. Many believed that his horrific murders were committed by someone who was marked by Satan.
However, we all know Jack the Ripper was a real person even though we still do not know for sure his true identity. There were no magical powers involved, just the ability to surgically rip a victim to pieces. But there have been others described as “monsters” who were believed to have strange powers and one of these appeared in the England of the 1830s.
He was given the name of Spring-Heeled Jack. His first appearance was in October 1837 when he attacked a lady by the name of Mary Stevens who was walking in Clapham Common which is where I am writing this article. He was described as being able to jump many feet into the air which is how he earned his nickname. The rest of his description does make you think that if true, then victims might have believed him to be the Devil.
It was recorded that his eyes were blood-red and that he had metallic claws for hands. His laugh was said to be like the Devil himself. I do wonder which witness had actually heard the “Devil” laughing! But, if this wasn’t enough to strike fear into the population, then the reports that he breathed out fire must have.
As far as we know, he never killed anyone although it has been said that a number of his victims died of fright. I am not convinced of this and believe that there was a bit of artistic licence involved. However, even if he didn’t kill anyone, he did leave a trail of injured and badly traumatised victims in his wake. Not all his victims were female, although the majority were. But, the day after the attack on Mary Stevens, Jack was said to have sprung out in front of a horse-drawn carriage causing the driver to crash. This was also in the Clapham Common area.
Over the next months he jumped out at many other young ladies causing both physical and psychological damage to them. He also did not confine his activities to just London. There were reports of him striking from many of the villages around London. The final two attacks occurred in February 1838. The first victim was a Jane Alsop who answered a knock on her door. Jack was there posing as a policeman before attacking her. Some days later, in the Limehouse region of east London, 18 year old Lucy Scales was attacked whilst out walking with her sister.
So, who was Spring-Heeled Jack? There were reports that it was the son of a wealthy individual who did it all for a laugh. But, I believe this was not taken seriously. However, we do have one lead but it has a twist in the tail and tale if you like. A few days after the last attack, a man was in a pub and began boasting that he was Jack. Unsurprisingly, he was arrested and brought before a court. The suspect was called Thomas Millbank. In court he was ordered to breathe out flames and when he could not…big surprise…the judge said that he could not possibly be Jack and dismissed the case. So, whether he was Jack, we probably will never know.
John Pullen 